Thursday, 10 December 2015

More Political Scandals, Please!

His extraordinary suggestion is that the future PM inserted a private
part of his anatomy into the animal’s mouth. (The Daily Mail, 20
September 2015)

When I first read that sentence from one of UK’s tabloids, I thought I
had come to the right place.

The future PM in the story was Mr Cameron, the animal was a dead pig and
a private part of his anatomy is a perfectly British expression.

UK definitely is a place to be, if you are interested in political
scandals. Which I am, both related to my work as a journalist and to my current
research at the University of Oxford.

—

Political scandals have also surprisingly occurred in my professional
life. After having worked for two decades in Finnish broadcast and print media,
I was invited in 2012 to work as a special adviser to the Minister of Culture.
Myresponsibilities included the
Minister's press relations and culture issues. I had no party membership, but
during my post I witnessed some scandals and near-scandals from inside the
political system.

For me, the experience was in many ways pivotal. After the Ministry
post, I returned to journalism and to the busy newsroom work at the Finnish
broadcasting company YLE. But something had changed. I felt that I should
further deepen my vastly grown political knowledge.

In Finland, we have the notable Helsingin Sanomat Foundation, which is
related to our biggest newspaper. The Foundation allows study grants for
prominent Finnish journalists to the top universities in the world – typically
for one year, to study and to live abroad.

I applied to the Oxford University’s Reuters Institute – and got lucky.

—

The book that The Daily Mail pig news was referring to is Call
Me Dave, asensation book by Lord Ashcroft and journalist Isabel Oakeshott.
When published in September 2015, the book caused a small political ”Piggate”
scandal that went on for a few weeks before it died as quickly as it had
started.

Piggate was not a scandal strong enough to dethrone the Prime Minister.
Until this day, it has not been proved whether there was any truth in the
allegations or not. However, Piggate was great political entertainment, and
probably caused a substantial boost to the tabloid’s sales.

The Daily Mail, most faithfully of all media, kept the scandal alive
for the time that it lived. The raw materials of the scandal were delicious: a
powerful politician, sex, a mysterious secret society, claimed desecration of
an animal’s corpse… actually, very much the same kind of stuff that The
Daily Mail has published throughout it’s vivid scandal-filled history.

If you look at the history of the British press, it is very much a
history of tabloids. Differing from many other European countries, like Italy
or France, UK had lots of working class people that were literate in
quite an early stage of history. Newspapers were not luxurious artifacts of
elite, but soon became every man’s, or woman’s, daily necessity.

That has had an impact on why the press in UK is as it is. When The
Daily Mail was established in 1896, it wasdirectly targeted to
lower-middle class and women. Scandals – wars, murders and other crimes, sexual
behavior in almost any form – were important news topics for The Daily Mail
right from the start.

The strategy has been successful. Already in the beginning of the 20th
century, The Daily Mail sold one and a half million copies a day. For a
few decades, it became the leading newspaper.

In the second half of the 1900’s, The Daily Mail’s circulation
revolved around 2,000 000 copies a day.

Last May 2015, The Daily Mail’s average circulation was still
over 1,600,000. That made The Daily Mail the second-best selling
newspaper after today’s leading tabloid, The Sun.

—

On top of all, my dear Piggate scandal was claimed to have happened at
the University of Oxford – the most mythical university in the world.

University of Oxford, more specifically Green Templeton College, is also
the base of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. The Institute,
located near the large green University Park meadows, produces research and
serves as a center for further education for journalists from all over the
world.

Journalists like me. Planning to complete my studies next summer,
I am comparing political scandals in UK and in Finland in my research.

In Finland, as you might guess, we do not get as many political scandals
as in UK. After the Second World War, Finland has been a strong consensus
society. During that era, journalists have also kept quiet about some potential
political scandals.

For example, during the President Urho Kekkonen’s
prolonged era (1956–1981), the press did not criticize the President.

There were several public secrets related to Kekkonen,
for example that he allegedly had several mistresses. Also his dementia, that
he started to suffer while he still was in power, was not reported at the time
even though journalists knew about it.

—

The Finnish press started to liberate only during the
next President Mauno Koivisto’s and Martti Ahtisaari’s era. President Ahtisaari
had to face much crueler publicity than any of his predecessors. In 1994, he
appeared with a plaster on his forehead, the grapevine telling that he had been
drinking too much and fallen during his trip abroad.

Mr Ahtisaari was asked in a live talk show broadcast:
”Did you wet yourself during your flight?”

In it’s utter disrespectfulness, that moment has left
a mark in the national memory. The Finnish media had once and for all broken
free from its shackles.

According to a previous research, there were only four
political scandals in Finland in the 1970’s. In the 2000’s, the amount was 37.
This indicates that there will be even more scandals in the future.

Depending on the country, different things seem to lead
to political scandals. In Finland, the most typical reason for a political
scandal has been financial misconduct, for example corruption. Only after that
becomes inappropriate personal behavior, typically drinking, but not drugs.
Historically sex-related scandals have been quite rare in Finland.

—

So far, I have greatly enjoyed my stay in Oxford. The place feels
like home and professionally there are, as well as in London, many
opportunities.

Of course, I now only have a one year’s scholarship for studies. What
happens after that is still open. And that is wonderfully exciting!

I have got mixed up with political scandals so much that I know, that in
life and in politics, anything is possible.

Looking forward to the next Piggate!

Anne Moilanen is a Finnish freelance journalist and communications
professional who has specialised in politics, culture and gender issues. For
the Academic Year 2015–2016, Anne is doing a research about political
scandals at the University of Oxford, at the Reuters Institute for the Study of
Journalism.

43 comments:

The number of scandals in the world is growing. The people become more aggressive. I work as a writer at essayhelperonline.com I have searched a lot of information and I have known how psychologists recommend keeping calm. A new trend is a coloring book. There are a lot of coloring books for adults. They have told if you paint you won't have negative emotions.

I feel happy already allowed to comment on this article. . . I am very impressed with your writing ... Thanks a information.,,. I Like Is The Basat,., Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this write-up and the rest of the website is very good. http://suplementubuh.com/obat-penyakit-radang-empedu/

Have you ever considered about adding a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is valuable and all. Nevertheless imagine if you added some great images or videos to give your posts more, "pop"! .. Good, i like..

It is well known that the cleanliness of houses is one of the most important services necessary in cleaning and upgrading our homes to the modern homes, which have been cleaned modern, which would provide the living conditions of the neighborhood and the quality of a competent body in the field with the provision of guarantees that would ensure the full guarantee of the success of the cleaning service There is no need for more money to be lost through requests for house cleaning services that do not meet their needs and are not in line with their wishes because many home cleaning companies are only seeking to offer their services through promotional methods in order to make money only without taking into consideration the ethical and professional conscience As these companies seek to satisfy customers, nothing more than this is accomplished by mastering house cleaning شركة نقل عفش بالرياضشركة تسليك مجاري بالرياضشركة تنظيف منازل بالرياضشركة تنظيف بالرياضشركة تنظيف خزانات بالرياض

About the blog

The Finnish Institute in London works to identify issues in contemporary society in the fields of art, culture and social studies. We encourage cross-disciplinary and international collaboration. We engage in research, new ideas and thinking – and provide our partners with a platform to discuss and act. This blog is such a platform.